The Festival of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus
Posted on January 1, 2026 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 2:21 (NKJV)
2:21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
Devotion
On the eighth day, the Holy Child is circumcised and given the name spoken by the angel before His conception—Jesus, meaning “The Lord saves.” His first blood is shed not for sin of His own, but as the sign that He has taken our place under the Law. From His infancy He begins the obedience that will lead to Calvary. The One who gave the covenant to Abraham now bears its mark in His flesh.
Here the mystery of His humility unfolds. The eternal Son of God submits to the cutting of the knife, bearing the very Law He Himself authored. What is painful and humbling is holy because of Him, for in that shedding of blood He consecrated those who would trust in His name. His circumcision prefigures the cross, where the old Adam will be cut away. Through Baptism, the true circumcision of the heart, we are joined to Him and receive His name upon us. The name of Jesus is the power of salvation, the confession of faith, the comfort of sinners, and the joy of the redeemed. In that name we live, and in that name we die.
Collect: O Merciful and Eternal God, heavenly Father, Who didst cause Thy Son to endure circumcision and to be made subject to the Law, that we might be redeemed from the curse of the Law: We beseech Thee, grant us grace to become partakers of this redemption and thus obtain eternal salvation; through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord
Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the new Birth of Thine Only-Begotten Son in the flesh may set us free who are held in the old bondage under the yoke of sin; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
